wharf

Definitions

A wharf scene—arrival of a ship from the mother country. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)

WordNet 3.6

vwharfmoor at a wharf"The ship was wharfed"

vwharfcome into or dock at a wharf"the big ship wharfed in the evening"

vwharfdischarge at a wharf"wharf the passengers"

vwharfstore on a wharf"Wharf the merchandise"

vwharfprovide with a wharf"Wharf the mouth of the river"

nwharfa platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats

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Additional illustrations & photos:

ANIMALS OF THE WHARF-PILES Habitat Group in the American Museum of Natural History

"MANY TIMES HAD SHE BEEN TIED UP AT THAT WHARF"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

WharfA structure or platform of timber, masonry, iron, earth, or other material, built on the shore of a harbor, river, canal, or the like, and usually extending from the shore to deep water, so that vessels may lie close alongside to receive and discharge cargo, passengers, etc.; a quay; a pier."Commerce pushes its wharves into the sea.""Out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and burgher, lord and dame."

WharfThe bank of a river, or the shore of the sea."The fat weed that roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf ."

WharfTo guard or secure by a firm wall of timber or stone constructed like a wharf; to furnish with a wharf or wharfs.

WharfTo place upon a wharf; to bring to a wharf.

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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

nwharfA platform of timber, stone, or other material built on a support at the margin of a harbor or a navigable stream, in order that vessels may be moored alongside, as for loading or unloading, or while at rest. A wharf may be parallel with and contiguous to the margin, when it is more especially called a quay; or it may project away from it, with openings underneath for the flow of water, when it is distinctively called a pier. (See cuts under pilework.) In England wharves are of two kinds:

nwharfThe bank of a river, or the shore of the sea.

wharfTo guard or secure by a wharf or firm wall of timber or stone.

wharfTo place or lodge on a wharf.

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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary

nWharfhworf a bank of timber or stone on the shore of a harbour or river for lading and unlading vessels:

Usage

In literature:

Foremost in the crowd on the wharf was Bangs, the senior member of the firm that kept the fish market.

"The Coming Wave" by Oliver Optic

It blew so hard I feared it would blow us over onto the wharf.

"Between the Lines" by Henry Bascom Smith

My men broke into a run for the scene of the fire; but I moved more slowly, and studied the situation as I walked up the wharf.

"Down South" by Oliver Optic

I left the wharf feeling very lonely and miserable.

"Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison" by Austin Biron Bidwell

When I reached Market Wharf I found that the Islander had hauled out into the stream from the wharf where she had been undergoing repairs.

"Up the River" by Oliver Optic

Nal Gerda, Officer of the Guard, stood on the small wharf below the old watchtower.

"Millennium" by Everett B. Cole

And I saw men hurrying on the wharf, as though about to put out a boat.

"The Lady and the Pirate" by Emerson Hough

Four canoes lay beside the wharf, and the campers were taking their places.

"The Merryweathers" by Laura E. Richards

At the wharf they were greeted by a chorus of exclamations from a large group of people.

"The Adventures of Bobby Orde" by Stewart Edward White

As he came to the wharf, his brilliant scheme leaped into his head again.

"All Adrift" by Oliver Optic

Or else to walk with Abby in the morning down the broad Embarcadero Road to the little wharf on the bay.

"The Other Side of the Door" by Lucia Chamberlain

Anne held fast to his hand as they walked together to the wharf where the sloop lay.

"A Little Maid of Province Town" by Alice Turner Curtis

Some days later, the captured vessel reached the port to which she had been sent, and was tied up at a wharf to await condemnation.

"The Naval History of the United States" by Willis J. Abbot

The shore, on which were a few small houses and a wharf hidden among trees and rocks, appeared to be a long distance off.

"The Ocean Wireless Boys And The Naval Code" by John Henry Goldfrap, AKA Captain Wilbur Lawton

How different from the poor, humble clerk upon the sugar wharf!

"Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates" by Howard I. Pyle

He strolled to Long Wharf.

"Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times" by Charles Carleton Coffin

Bannon looked across the tracks to the wharf; the pile of timber was still there.

"Calumet 'K'" by Samuel Merwin

This precluded his waiting at the familiar place on the rotting wharf.

"Wild Oranges" by Joseph Hergesheimer

His anxious glances up the wharf, and those flowers give him away.

"The Pines of Lory" by John Ames Mitchell

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In poetry:

But the Memories arose in light,
From meadow and wharf and wave,
And sang through the gathering night,
As we turned to leave the grave.

"I said to my heart,--'I am tired" by Digby Mackworth Dolben

Fades the sodden wharf, and fades the spire.
The anchored ships are lost. The climbing town
Fades out. The narrows close. The cliffs retire.
The green hill-pastures blur against the brown.

"Adieu" by Theodore Goodridge Roberts

Then on another arm I leant,
And then once more with him I went
Thro' field and wharf and town;
And love caught up the flying hours,
And eyes that were not calm as yours
Were imaged in my own.

"To --" by Digby Mackworth Dolben

And I took off my cap by the dingy wharf-side
To the grace and the glory, the strength and the pride,
That all were her portion who once had the name
In a day that's gone by, of a clipper of fame.

"The Ould Has-Been" by Cicely Fox Smith

Was it but the muttering tide that by the wharf did go, —
Or the footsteps of a comrade out of long ago?
Did I hear the wave lap and the light wind sigh, —
Or the voices of my shipmates in the years gone by?

"The Old Fiddle" by Cicely Fox Smith

"By Tavy, Dart and Derwent, by Wharfe and Usk and Nidd,
Here's many a trusty vassal is yours when you shall bid,
With the strength of English rivers to push the wheels along,
And the roar of many a mill-race to join the victory song."

"The Song Of The Mill" by Cicely Fox Smith

In news:

Between the Pacific Coast's bounty and San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, it's no surprise that the Bay Area would be home to so many terrific seafood restaurants.